Could the Saudi-Pak Defence Pact force Modi and Islamabad to play nice?
India’s economy relies heavily on the Gulf for remittances, trade, and oil. As the US pressures Modi to abandon Russian crude, Pakistan’s new relationship with Saudi Arabia could force the Indians to rethink their strategy on Pakistan
The ‘stable’ Gulf is gone. What comes next?
Pax Americana is well and truly dead as far as the Middle East is concerned, which means that the Gulf’s much-vaunted stability is gone. What does that mean for Pakistan’s economy?
Still thinking about shopping like a billionaire? Maybe not at these prices
Temu seems to have ended its deep discounting policy globally. What could be behind this decision? And why has the Competition Commission of Pakistan recommended that the PTA block the platform?
The crimes of Punjab’s real estate developers are drowning us
Climate change and river infrastructure has rapidly changed what modern water management looks like. Real estate developers and their political allies are criminally complicit
Karachi isn’t resilient. It’s suffocating under the PPP
The country’s financial capital is a uniquely dysfunctional city. Its real estate tells the story of how its citizens cope with the incompetence of their ruling class
The “Too Big For Pakistan” Problem
Four of Pakistan's largest conglomerates find themselves in the awkward position of having too much cash, and not enough places to deploy it in the domestic economy. Outbound FDI should be made easier
The slow decay of Pakistani Agriculture
Pakistani farmers are using more land and growing crops more aggressively. The only outcomes have been shrinking yields, smaller farms, and slimmer margins
The pipe dream of energy independence
How far off is Pakistan from having purely domestic sources of energy, and how would that impact the country?
The stalled arrival of working women in Pakistan
After rising rapidly in the first decade of this century, female labour force participation in Pakistan has flatlined. What drives that stagnation?
Falling in line
After one of their employees was arrested for an anti-government tirade, Qarshi was accused of firing him and became the focus of a boycott campaign. Their response was complete silence. We’re not surprised
The joint family is here to stay
Solo living, and the attendant loneliness, is on the rise everywhere in the world… except in Pakistan
The Battle of the Sugar Barons has yielded its first victim
The PSX has mandated that Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills needs to buy back its shares. For once, the sugar manufacturer has decided to let up
The declining returns to emigration
For decades, Pakistanis have defined success as getting out. But the cost have been going up, and the returns have been declining. At what point does it stop making sense?
Farewell, Careem Pakistan
The ride-hailing giant was an early innovator in Pakistan, and made the country one of its core markets. Now, Pakistan is just a back office for the company. How did the company cede so much market share to its newer competitors?
K-Electric: Asleep at the switch
A bruising board fight has left the management adrift, at a time when the company is unprepared to deal with the coming age of solar energy
